MTSU's Anastasia Hayes watches MTSU's assistant women's coach Matt Insell as he shows her the drill he wants her to run during a workout before the Southern Miss game on Thursday Jan. 10, 2019. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Riverdale's Aislynn Hayes, right signed to play basketball at MTSU on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. Aislynn Hayes' sister Anastasia Hayes will also be playing basketball next season at MTSU. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Riverdale's Aislynn Hayes signed to play basketball at MTSU on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. The Hayes sisters who have all played basketball at Riverdale (L to R) Acacia Hayes, Aislynn Hayes, Anastasia Hayes and Alasia Hayes. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Riverdale's Anastasia Hayes (3) goes up for a shot as Morristown West's Sydney Newsome (21) guards her during the quarterfinal round of the Class AAA State Tournament on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Riverdale's Anastasia Hayes (3) and her sister Aislynn Hayes (11) carry the championship trophy over to the Riverdale fans as the team celebrates its victory over Memphis Central in the Class AAA championship on March 11, 2017. HELEN COMER/DNJ

She did not go into detail about what led to her dismissal at Tennessee.

"That wasn't the place for me to be and God sent me somewhere where I needed to be," Hayes said. "With the coaching staff here, I can trust all of them and I know they will always have my back and be very supportive of me."

In practice, Hayes rarely comes off the court. She's been a member of the scout team. The pregame drills and the two-hour practices are becoming routine once again as Hayes continues to work back into a rhythm.

"You can see that she's getting back into basketball shape right now, she plays about every possession (in practice)," coach Rick Insell said. "She's a McDonald's All-American. Bottom line. You can see flashes of her getting it back together."

Insell said having her in practice has made the other players on the team better because of how talented she is.

Matt Insell works with her closely. He recruited Hayes hard when he was at Ole Miss. He first saw Hayes play when she was in the eighth grade at Goodpasture.

The two built a rapport with each other and he built one with her family. When he was the coach at Ole Miss, he offered scholarships to Hayes and her three sisters, Aislynn, Alasia and Acacia.

Hayes' familiarity with him was one of the reasons why she signed with MTSU. She called him and let him know she was committing back in October.

He was ecstatic.

"I'm excited for her because I think she's going to be able to come into her own and do what she wants to do in the game of basketball right here in front of her family and friends," he said.

Playing for her hometown team

Hayes runs plays through her head while sitting on the bench. How she would attack a defender, how she would move without the ball, or how should defend a certain opponent.

It's one of the few things she can do right now while waiting for the 2019-20 season.

"It's been hard sitting on the bench (when) always, at this time, I was playing," Hayes said. "Just been watching all the games and watching everybody, it's what I miss the most."

When Hayes called Matt Insell in October, she set out a list of goals she wanted to accomplish with the Lady Raiders: hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, something that has never been done in program history, and reaching the Final Four.

"This is my hometown," Hayes said. "To do it for MTSU, it's even a bigger motivation because this is where I'm from and this is where I live."

Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@dnj.com and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.